''Senja di Jakarta'' () is an Indonesian novel written by

Mochtar Lubis Mochtar Lubis (; 7 March 1922 – 2 July 2004) was an Indonesian journalist and novelist who co-founded ''Indonesia Raya (newspaper), Indonesia Raya'' and monthly literary magazine ''Horison''. His novel ''Senja di Jakarta'' (''Twilight in ...

and first published in English by Hutchinson & Co. in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

, with a translation by

Claire Holt Claire Rhiannon Holt (born 11 June 1988) is an Australian-American actress. She made her acting debut playing Emma Gilbert in the fantasy series '' H2O: Just Add Water'' (2006–2008), before moving to America and making her film debut in 2009 ...

. It was later published in Indonesian in 1970.

Writing

''Senja di Jakarta'' was written while Mochtar Lubis was under

house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...

, as ordered by the

Sukarno Sukarno (6 June 1901 – 21 June 1970) was an Indonesian statesman, orator, revolutionary, and nationalist who was the first president of Indonesia, serving from 1945 to 1967. Sukarno was the leader of the Indonesian struggle for independenc ...

government. The manuscript was originally entitled ''Yang Terinjak dan Melawan'' (), but the title was changed during translation.

Plot

Raden Kaslan, a member of the Indonesia Party, is told by the party leader Husin Limbara to raise funds for the next election. To do so, Kaslan creates fake companies to handle licensing the import of goods with his second wife Fatma, son Suryono and himself as directors. Through this

fraud In law, fraud is intent (law), intentional deception to deprive a victim of a legal right or to gain from a victim unlawfully or unfairly. Fraud can violate Civil law (common law), civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrato ...

, they raise much money for themselves and the party. At his father's urging, Suryono quits his job at the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

and soon becomes rich. He also becomes very

promiscuous Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by man ...

, having sex with high-class

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

s, married women, and his own stepmother. Meanwhile, honest government workers like Idrus are unable to compete. Idrus receives little compensation, and his materialistic wife Dahlia is having an

affair An affair is a relationship typically between two people, one or both of whom are either married or in a long-term Monogamy, monogamous or emotionally-exclusive relationship with someone else. The affair can be solely sexual, solely physical or ...

with Suryono. The '' wong cilik'', including prostitute Neneng, coachman Pak Idjo, and garbagemen Saimun and Itam live in hunger, ignored by the

upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status. Usually, these are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper cla ...

. Despite the inequality, academics and cultural observers do nothing but discuss the social woes; they never take action. Eventually, opposition newspapers uncover the corruption and fake companies used by the Indonesia Party. This causes the president to disband the cabinet and some members of the Indonesia Party to join the opposition. Raden Kaslan is arrested, while Suryono and Fatma get into a car accident while trying to escape; Suryono dies of his wounds. Despite the fall of the Indonesia Party, the poor still suffer.

Themes

''Senja di Jakarta'' has been seen as drawing a parallel of 1950s Indonesia, under Sukarno's reign. The corruption, immorality, and abuse of power of the ruling class caused poverty within the general populace. These same themes are seen throughout the novel.

Release and reception

Due to Lubis' imprisonment, ''Senja di Jakarta'' was originally published by Hutchinson & Co. as ''Twilight in Jakarta'' in 1963. From the English version, it was translated into

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as ''Schemer over Djakarta'' by P.H. Fruithof. In 1964, it was released in Malay as ''Sendja di Djakarta''. It was also translated into

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

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, and

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prior to being released in Indonesian in 1970. Since then it has also been translated into

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. Due to it originally being published in English, ''Senja di Jakarta'' has been described as Mochtar Lubis' best known work in the Western world. Critical reception was warm. A. Teeuw considered it one of Mochtar Lubis' finer works, and

Ajip Rosidi Ajip Rosidi (31 January 1938 – 29 July 2020) was an Indonesian poet and short story writer. As of 1983 he had published 326 works in 22 different magazines. Biography Rosidi was born on 31 January 1938, in Jatiwangi, Majalengka, West Java. He ...

later commented that the world press received it well. However, others such as M. Balfas described ''Senja di Jakarta'' as " howingthat Mochtar Lubis' place is more in the world of newspapers and magazines than in that of literature proper." The novel was adapted for film by Nico Pelamonia as ''Sendja di Djakarta'' in 1967.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{cite web , title = Nico Pelamonia , language = id , url = http://filmindonesia.or.id/movie/name/nmp4b9bad51ee5c5_Nico-Pelamonia , work = Filmindonesia.or.id , publisher = Konfiden Foundation , location = Jakarta , access-date = 20 April 2013 , archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140417110337/http://filmindonesia.or.id/movie/name/nmp4b9bad51ee5c5_nico-pelamonia , archive-date = 17 April 2014 , url-status = live , ref = {{sfnRef, Filmindonesia.or.id, Nico Pelamonia 1963 novels Indonesian novels Novels set in Indonesia Political novels Novels by Mochtar Lubis